h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

They've got bridges like that in Ireland too

Probably the largest brick built structure in Europe - 53 24 32 N 2 9 55W - the Stockport Railway viaduct, 11million bricks it's said.

After mentioning coal trains, I went and looked up the Dakota Westmoreland mine. They have a power shovel at 47 11 31.6 N 101 45 10.0 W that is truly large. The bucket is the size of a two-stall garage and is only used to move the earth away from the top of the coal vein. You can see ordinary cars and pickups around it in the mine.

LL&P
RtC

Oh, someone mentioned liking military aircraft. How about B-52's? 47 57 14 N 97 23 40 W

LL&P
RtC

Not that it's a competition, but, here's the Lethbridge Viaduct: 49 41 53 N 112 51 59 W



Length: 1,623.86 m (5,327.625 feet)
Height: 95.7 m (314 feet) above river bed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethbridge_Viaduct

Thanks for that one. That's a truly awsome structure. It's kind of hard to look at until your eye sorts out what is bridge and what is shadow!

I looked over the Wikipedia article and our "Hi-line Bridge" as it is know was built at about the same time. If you know of any more items like that, please post them.

LL&P
RtC

53 42 30 N 00 27 00 W

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humber_Bridge

This one isn't terribly tall or terribly long, but it's very close to home for me (just down the road): 53 31 50 N 113 30 39 W

The train doesn't run across it anymore but it still has two lanes of traffic on the lower deck, the highest streetcar river crossing in the world on the upper deck, and an artificial waterfall for special events.


http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/hlbline.htm


Wikipedia's article is quite inaccurate. But there is a picture of the waterfall: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Edmonton_Sourdough_Raft_Race.jpg


Interesting historical pictures here:

http://railways-atlas.tapor.ualberta.ca/cocoon/atlas/Photos-7-3-3/
http://railways-atlas.tapor.ualberta.ca/cocoon/atlas/Photos-7-3-2/
http://railways-atlas.tapor.ualberta.ca/cocoon/atlas/Maps-7-3-5/


In the old days there were three rail lines across the top deck. Streetcars used the outside two while freight and passenger trains went down the center line. There's a great picture somewhere out there of a train passing a streetcar in the middle of the bridge. No guardrail. Little streetcar teetering right on the edge. It must have been quite a ride.


You won't find this version on googleEarth, but it's kind of fun: http://www.nalug.org/TrainShow2004/Highlevel/

I've never tried this, so I hope these Grid Refs are right. If I've done it properly, *that's* a bridge

24°42'5.04"N 81°10'15.79"W

You did it okay, SWL.

On a similar scale: 46 11 48 N 63 46 19 W



It doesn't show up very well on google earth, so:

http://www.confederationbridge.com/

40 dollars to cross a bridge!!And I thought the Skye bridge was expensive!

The Vasco Da Gama Bridge in Lisbon is pretty cool

38 45 48 N 09 02 42 W

(and it's only 4 Euros to cross!)

Blimey!! That bridge in the Florida Keys is nearly 7 miles long!!

In fact I just looked it up and it is imaginatively called 7 mile bridge!

All this has inspired me to look up more long bridges (slow day here) and found this

30 11 59 N 90 07 22 W ... 24 miles long!!

Sorry SWL - now *that's* a bridge!!!

That is unbelievable!

BTW, at risk of sounding a total anorak, ta for the aircraft link, RtC - but those are KC135 refuelling tankers.

These are B-52s:
48 25 00.00N 101 20 58.13W

(But thanks for thinking of me anyway)

Oh, ya, you're right. Sorry about that. Both Minot and Grand Forks Air Force Bases had B-52's and KC-135's before the last round of base closures. I just glanced and it didn't dawn on me until I really looked. Sure aren't many of them left. At one point in time, if North Dakota seceded from the union, it would have been the second most powerful nuclear power in the world. That includes B-52's and Minuteman missles in silos. Hmmmm... I wonder if I can locate one of those, yet.

LL&P
RtC

48 23 22.31 N 101 43 56 W

"48 23 22.31 N 101 43 56 W"

Yes! And?

Nice car park.

PP

That's not a carpark. It's a minuteman missile silo.

It's a missile silo in North Dakota.

I hate this! I read all these at work, but the computers here don't allow me to use something as impressive as Google Earth - Microsoft Powerpoint taxes these things!

Then when I get home I have to deal with things like, well, wife, kids...

It's going to be another 10 hours before I can get to my home PC...